Prologue
a hot gust of air swept across the square of the small village where most of the villagers had gathered around a hastily erected stand. The stand bore the mark of Queen Furyana and behind it sat one of her elite guards. The guard was an old man, his skin scarred from many wounds and weathered by many years under the relentless sun. Before him lay a stack of papers with lists of names of people he didn't know. They were the names of people that were marked for enrolment in the army of Eidolon. Why he, an elite soldier and veteran of many battles had been assigned to herd these commoners to the Arena he couldn't grasp.
A low sound from the other side of the stand brought him back from his thoughts. He looked up from his papers and stared into the face of a young boy who was crying. The boy was the last one in the line that had been rather long considering the size of the village.
"What are you whimpering for, kid?"
The boy tried to answer but the words drowned in the tears.
"By the gods, what a group!" the soldier muttered under his breath, feeling even more sorry for himself for being out here in the wastelands.
"State your name, boy, so that we may be done here! I have two more places to go before we return to the Doomsphere."
"Da...Dagan," the boy finally managed to speak.
"Good. Go to the wagon along with the others and we'll be off in a few minutes."
"But I don't want to go! I want to stay here with my mom and friends."
The old warrior couldn't believe his ears.
what?! You know perfectly well that it is the law. You're 15 years old now and as such you are old enough to be introduced to the ways of Eidolon. Besides, your friends will probably join you soon at the arena..."
"That's a stupid law!" the boy cried back in a sudden burst of defiance.
The soldier was just about to slap the boy with the back of his hand when he realised that the boy reminded him of himself in his younger days.
"You have to go, everybody has to."
"But...what if I die?"
The old soldier broke into laughter and slapped his thighs.
"Don't you know anything, boy? Has the sun melted your brain? You can't die in the Doomsphere. Our queens thought of that little detail. You can get hurt, alright, but the wounds heal really fast." He pulled back his uniform from his right arm, exposing an ugly scar that ran all the way round the limb.
"Some bloke once cut my arm clean off my shoulder, and it hurt like hell...but guess what, the powerful magic that the queens built into the arena made it grow right back in a few days! I?ve even seen a man lose his head only to be back the following morning for training."
The boy's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"But why do we all have to go to the arena?" he asked.
The soldier put down the papers and rose from his seat.
"You're certainly not the brightest kid, are you? Get on the wagon and I'll tell you the story on our way to the next village."
THE TALE
in the old days, more than a hundred years ago, everything was just blissful and idyllic under the reign of King Argor and Queen Silune." The soldier rolled his eyes and silently lamented the rosy tone that the bards had used when writing the official tale of the country's history.
"In fact, the biggest problem seemed to be for the king and queen to get an heir to the throne. Many said that it could be because the queen was too old and rigid, although she still looked like a young woman. However, any such rumours were put to shame when suddenly one day it was announced that Queen Silune was soon to give birth to a child."
THREEFOLD CELEBRATION
it was a stormy night, with thunder and lightning engulfing the castle on its high place at the peak of the cliffs when Silune gave birth to a baby girl. Sorena, they named her, after the lightning that had filled the night when she was born.
Sorena was soon to be followed by two more girls. Arsenica was born on a foggy day and Furyana on a hot summer night a few years later. The king and queen were overly happy, as were the people of Eidolon for everything was perfect now and nothing would change that."
The soldier turned in his seat at the front of the wagon and eyed the boy with a look that indicated that the tale was about to take an important turn.
"Or so they thought!" he continued.
THE FALL OF KING AGROR
The happiness came to an abrupt end for the royal family. One day when King Argor walked his daily walk along the cliffs at the base of the royal castle he suddenly lost his footing and fell to a horrible death. The young Arsenica was the one to suffer the most by the loss for she had been with the king when he fell. She had seen his crushed body on the bloody stones and she blamed herself for his demise because she hadn't been able to help her father.
The loss of their father put the three sisters and their mother into a long period of mourning and for more than two months the people saw only little of the royal family. The queen withdrew into a state of lone despair, even leaving her own daughters to their own devices, and she grew weaker and weaker by the day. Sorena, Arsenica and Furyana, though, formed an even stronger bond to each other, Sorena often taking the role of a mother.
LIKE FATHER,LIKE MOTHER
Then one day the queen did not come out from her personal chambers and she refused to answer the call of the worried servants. Sorena asked the servants to investigate what was wrong with the queen and soon the answer came in the form of a shrill cry from the bedroom. She was found dead in her bed, an expression of grief upon her face, and the court physician declared that she had died from sorrow.
THE LEGACY OF THE CROWN
With the death of both the king and the queen Eidolon was now without a proper ruler and it was thus decided that all three sisters should be coronated so that the heavy burden of ruling the land would not befall just one of the young girls. This way each would become queen of her own part of the country, which would be divided into three. Despite their young age the sisters quickly seemed to grow into their new role. Sorena was given control over the beautiful land called Blissmor, with high mountains, green fields and wide rivers. Arsenica was to live in Mystor, the large and misty forest said to be home for all sorts of strange and wonderful creatures. Finally, Furyana was to reign in the volcanic wastelands of Vulcor."
The old warrior made a short pause to utter a few commands to the lazy ox that pulled the wagon.
"But I still don't see why I have to go to the arena," the impatient boy said. "And besides I'm no good with a sword."
"You didn't let me finish, boy! Hear me out and it will all be clear to you."
THE STRANGERS
The following many years were uneventful and the people of Eidolon were all amazed at how fast the three sisters developed the appropriate skills for running a country. Each sister even managed to find time to pursue other interests. Sorena was taught by the best wizards and soon became very practised in the art of sorcery. Arsenica learned the skill of archery from the renowned huntsmen of Mystor and the temperamental youngest sister, Furyana, became a skilled and strong warrior, which was almost inevitable considering the many feral tribesmen that live in her domain.
Many years passed under the sisters' reign and the people slowly adapted to the new ways of Eidolon. However, like lightning from a clear sky an army of strange and evil creatures suddenly swarmed into Eidolon, attacking the border villages without mercy. The three sisters had to use all their wits and newfound talents to repel the enemy. It soon became evident that this was only the first of a series of attacks that the strange creatures had planned and the sisters realised that if Eidolon was to endure, measures had to be taken. Every man and woman of the country had to be trained in the use of weapons and spells so that they could help defend their villages. A huge arena, the Doomsphere, was built in the middle of Eidolon and it was decreed that every man and woman over the age of 15 must start the training in the Doomsphere so as to join the national army.
And so you see, kid, your country needs you…and though you may not be keen with a sword there is still plenty you can do. Yes, I think the sorceresses could make something out of you! And if you train hard enough you may one day be selected for an honourable position within the Royal Guard, just like me…if you can beat me!"
The soldier could see that the boy was about to say something in return, but he cut him off.
"Ah, there's the next village! End of story and end of debate. From now on you will have to get used to obeying orders without questioning them."
The wagon rolled into the village where a small crowd had already gathered…
